Ave Maria University awarded $100,000 grant for Alzheimer's research

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that one in four deaths from Alzheimer's Disease are now occurring at home. It's a startling increase showing a shifting away from hospitals and nursing homes. (May 25)
AP

Ave Maria University has been awarded $100,000 as one of 31 grants from the Florida Department of Health to universities in the state for research on Alzheimer’s disease.

Four researchers at the university in Collier County are teaming up to investigate how certain proteins in the brain might be manipulated to promote protections against the debilitating disease, said Antonio Barbosa, the principal investigator and an associate professor of chemistry.

In addition, some of the peer-reviewed grant will be used for scholarships for four undergraduates to be involved in the research in the summer, he said.

Ave Maria is the only grant recipient among the group where the research will be led by an undergraduate-based program, as opposed to a graduate-level program, Barbosa said.

The $5 million in state funding for the 31 grants comes from the Ed and Ethel Moore Alzheimer’s Disease Research Program, which the Florida Legislature created in 2014 to help find ways to prevent and cure Alzheimer’s disease, the most common type of dementia.

The disease begins with mild memory loss and can progress to loss of the ability to respond to one’s environment, to carry out daily living activities or recognize loved ones.

In Florida, an estimated 520,000 people are living with Alzheimer’s, and the number is expected to increase to more than 700,000 by 2025, according to the state Department of Elder Affairs.

Almost 12 percent of the current senior population in Florida has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s.

Nationally, more than 5 million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s, and it is the sixth-leading cause of death in the U.S., according to the national Alzheimer’s Association, based in Chicago. By 2050, an estimated 16 million Americans might be diagnosed.

The research at Ave Maria will focus on a protein, SIRT 1, found in the brain and body. People with low levels of the protein are prone to develop neurodegenerative disease, Barbosa said.

“We will look at activating it, to turn on the SIRT 1 as a neuroprotective mechanism to protect the brain,” Barbosa said.

Another research focus is how the protein interacts with another protein with a neuroprotective mechanism, he said.

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The Microsoft co-founder invested $50 million in the Dementia Discovery Fund.
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Gov. Rick Scott said in a news release that the state is proud to help fund research for prevention, treatment and a potential cure for the heartbreaking disease.

The Ed and Ethel Moore research program allocates grants each year through a peer-reviewed and competitive process with a grant advisory board.

Two former lawmakers from Naples sponsored bills in 2014 legislative session to establish the research program. They are former Rep. Matt Hudson, R-Naples, and former state Sen. Garrett Richter.